


With You

by Fernatticus



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Background Mighty Nein - Freeform, Canon Compliant, Dancing, F/M, Pining, Pining Caleb Widogast, its canon, spoilers for episode 108, they DANCED
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:00:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26309695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fernatticus/pseuds/Fernatticus
Summary: “Caleb, do you want to come dance?”"With you? Ja."
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Nott | Veth Brenatto & Caleb Widogast, Nott | Veth Brenatto/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 3
Kudos: 64





	With You

When Veth rejoined the group, he could tell something had happened. Her eyes were a bit too shiny for his liking, and he noticed the very slight pink rings around her quickly blinking eyes hidden beneath her glimmering tattoo. Expertly ducking and weaving through the mob of taller people who stumbled around the area in a stumbling, drunken dance, she made a spot for herself in the small circle where everyone stood, shoving something into her bag before and meeting their eyes.

With a few words of acknowledgement, everyone went off on their own, Beauregard pulling out a couple of bottles of rum and Caduceus wandering off on his own. Caleb took this time to consider what it was he should do. The Nein had accomplished almost all of the tasks they could for the time being, and he would feel weird working during a party they had worked so hard to pull off and represented the fruits of their labor. 

Caleb Widogast didn’t like parties. He never had, but looking down at the glowing smile on Veth’s face and the way her star filled eyes flickered throughout the crowd made him want to. Everyone had been working hard, Jester obviously working the hardest, but Veth as ‘High Priestess in Command’ had practically been at Jester’s beck and call for the past five days, scurrying around to make the workload easier on the stressed tiefling. Veth deserved a night out. She deserved glitz and dancing and drinks and friends and revelry ~~and anything she asked of him or ever wanted,~~ but at the very least she deserved to have fun for a night. After the stress of Vocodo and preparing for the convention, they all did.

“I’m going to go dance with Jester,” Yasha announced, her soft voice barely audible above the tumultuous sounds of the party around them. Caleb cracked a half smile at that. Ss the quietest members of the Nein, he felt a certain kinship with her and was happy that she was allowing herself the luxury of a good time. She certainly deserved it after the past few weeks, as he could imagine being possessed once again wasn’t doing any favors for her mental health.

He looked on as Yasha disappeared into the crowd, the crown of her head poking out above the sea of attendees. A few people parted at Yasha’s appearance, her large frame parting a path for her to get to Jester, who’s face lit up upon seeing Yasha appear.

Just before he could ask what Veth was going to do, or even what had happened with Vilya, he felt a gentle hand tug at his. He turned to see Veth looking up at him, a bit nervous, but mostly excited.

“Caleb, do you want to come dance?” Veth implored. Caleb, taken aback, blinked down at the beautiful halfling who was currently staring at him with something akin to ~~love~~ adoration, adoration he certainly wasn’t worthy of receiving. 

“With you?” Caleb clarified, the hummingbird esque beating of his heart increasing in tempo and force. Veth responded with a slight, confirmative nod and an anticipating grin. “Ja.” 

At this, Veth lit up further, extending her hand to his. Hoping his blush was masked by the strange mix of dim golden light and shadows that overtook the dance floor, he took his hand, his calloused fingers intertwining with her soft ones. Her small hand led him out, expertly maneuvering through the crowd, Veth using her free hand to wave over to where Jester and Yasha danced in synchronicity, the origin of the dance unknown even to Caleb with his vast knowledge on various cultures. He guessed they had just made it up, and the idea of Jester pulling Yasha into her made up dance made him chuckle.

He looked on as Veth spun to face him, still beaming so widely he had to wonder how he had caused her to seem sovivacious. Nervously, he fidgeted his hands, unsure of what to do with them now that Veth was no longer holding them.

“I don’t know many,” He admitted, looking around at the other people on the dance floor and their absolute lack of cohesion. It made him feel a little better, but he still didn’t want to look like a fool in front of Veth, which, if he thought about it, was an inane saying she had met him at his lowest. Still, he found himself wanting to impress her.

She giggled, reaching up to take both of his hands in hers, the flush on Caleb’s cheeks spreading to his ears, Veth dismissing his concerns by saying, “You just need one.”

“Okay,” He responded, his voice as soft as he felt.

Veth, as he discovered, was a decent dancer. She, as opposed to Yasha and Jester, seemed to have at least some type of dance she was modeling after, and after a bit of ~~definitely not super creepy~~ staring, he recognized the dance as the Diaskedázo, a popular halfling dance that had worked its way into Empire culture with halfling culture having such deep roots in almost all Empire farming communities. 

With this, Caleb vaguely remembered learning it as a child, and trying his best not to stumble, he joined her, the two of them looping arms and spinning clockwise, counter clockwise, and then clockwize again, Caleb quickly learning the rhythm Veth set. He had been so focused on his foot placement he hadn’t even realized she was gazing up at him, her glittering brown eyes wide with shock and amusement.

“I didn’t know you knew the Diaskedázo!” She exclaimed, impressed. 

Caleb blushed, brushing off her praise by responding, “I learned it a long time ago.”

“You’re really good,” She responded, genuinely, spinning and releasing their arms, only for them to meet in the spin in the new direction and interlock arms once more.

“You are a good lead,” He replied. She chuckled a bit as if he were joking, unwilling to accept his praise. He didn’t frown, but got close. 

It wasn’t like he hadn’t noticed how down on herself she had been the past few weeks. First with taking point with Beauregard, then desperately trying to excuse her poor performance at the ruins, and lastly when she had plummeted from the tree with the T-Rex. It had been easy before to take her self hatred as something purely physical and pointed at her body, but now that her critiques were of her own abilities, he had to acknowledge that they went deeper, into the parts of her he loved. He hated the idea that she didn’t know how talented and invaluable ~~to him~~ she was. He wanted her to love herself ~~as much as he did.~~

Finally came the lift, their dance reaching its natural climax. Without thinking of what this action would do for his crying, desperate heart, he swept her into his arms, easily lifting her off her feet and spinning her in the air, her golden dress flowing in the wind. Their eyes met, hers crinkled from the sheer magnitude and intensity of her smile, and his intense and strangely warm.

Later, Caleb would think about her soft weight in his arms and the way her chest shook as she laughed, her arms looped around his neck. He would think about the gentle pressing of her lips against his cheek before she hopped out of his arms, landing with more grace than he thought humanly possible, and running over to join Yasha and Jester who quickly began teaching her their dance. 

But for now, Caleb just danced, allowing the noise and lights and movement to overwhelm him until he wasn’t as acutely aware of the soft warmth that lingered against his cheek where Veth had kissed him, letting himself be swept up into the horde and become a part of the dance.

**Author's Note:**

> the shipping world is in ruins and widobraves are just like "they danced :D"


End file.
